Results tagged “winter”

            

Images from around the city of this morning's storm are piling up in the DCist Flickr pool as quickly as the snow outside. Don't forget to add yours!

D.C. Wire's Nikita Stewart reports from the D.C. Council's legislative session that the Council has unanimously approved emergency legislation to require drivers to remove frozen snow and ice from their vehicles. However the bill, introduced by Ward 5's Harry Thomas Jr., was amended to eliminate a $50 fine, instead opting to have police issue drivers a warning. So for the next 90 days, know that if we get another real winter storm and you fail to clear ice and snow from the roof or hood of your vehicle, you could be subject to a stern talking to from a D.C. police officer. Photo by mindgutter.

So says Punxsutawney Phil, who is looking pretty freaked out about being hoisted over his handler's head earlier this morning. Aside from breaking the bad weather news, Phil was apparently pretty happy with the Steelers' victory over the Arizona Cardinals last night. Or else he just wanted to be left alone and burrow back into his hole without being blamed, once again, for the continuation of a long, cold winter.

Over 130 DCist readers say they slipped and fell on a patch of ice today. President Obama thinks this is funny. But it's no laughing matter to Davy DCist.

UPDATE: Politico has video of the President's comments. We've posted them above.

Ice! It's everywhere today. 'Fess up if it caused you to have an ungraceful encounter with the ground on your way in to work this morning.

Today's first real winter storm of the season landed this morning, and we're staring down some serious ice tonight. But we can be pretty sure of one thing: it's not the worst storm D.C.'s succumbed to on January 27. Today marks the 87th* anniversary of the great Knickerbocker Storm of 1922. The two-day blizzard got its name when D.C.'s Knickerbocker Theater collapsed on the night of the January 28, killing 98 people and injuring 133. It is still the single largest snow storm D.C. has ever had (with an official total of 25 inches and drifts considerably larger than that), and the disaster at the Knickerbocker still ranks among our city's most tragic.

A reader named Cali wrote in: "Any chance you could figure out what our responsibilities are as renters regarding snow removal in the District? I can't find anything and knowing my landlord he'll make something up." We'll refer any confused renters to our post on this subject from two years ago, which explains D.C. law regarding snow shoveling. It reads, "D.C. law requires residents to remove snow from sidewalks and steps within eight hours of daylight after the snow stops." The key word there is "residents." Rowhouse renters should not expect their landlord to show up with a shovel; you just have to get out there and clear the way. If you live in a big apartment building, you probably pay for a maintenance crew that will take care of this for you, but best to check with your building manager. The current forecast is calling for a second winter weather system to enter the D.C. area between 4-6 p.m. as light snow, and then change to sleet and freezing rain later tonight. Given the possibility that the freezing rain could create a hard shell of ice on top of the snow on the sidewalks, we'd recommend getting out there and taking care of business as soon as you get home from work. Put down a little salt while you're at it.

The National Weather Service has now issued both a Winter Weather Advisory and a Winter Storm Watch for the D.C. Metro area. The Winter Weather Advisory is effective from 4 a.m. Tuesday morning to 6 p.m. that evening, during which time 2-3" of snow is currently predicted. The Winter Storm Watch goes into effect after 6 p.m. on Tuesday through to Wed. afternoon. That system will bring everyone's favorite wintry mix to the region, which will be some combination of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain, but that will all depend on temperatures at the time.

The National Weather Service has already lifted the Winter Weather Advisory inside the boundaries of the District, with snowfall inside the city limits lighter than expected (only about .25") and dissipating. Still, every major road was pre-salted this morning, and we're certain City Administrator Dan Tangherlini has marching orders to make sure not a single complaint can be lodged about road conditions between this afternoon and The Big Day. This is also the first time the city has even come close to implementing Mayor Fenty's revised snow removal strategy.

We had a little snowpocalypse false alarm around 10:15 a.m. this morning in parts of downtown D.C. and Northern Virginia. A dark cloud passed overhead that deposited some big fat flakes, and then promptly moved on, bringing back sunny skies that have probably already melted most of what touched the ground. Flickr contributor Angela Kleis was kind enough to run out and snap a shot of some flakes outside her office in Manassas before they disappeared.

While checking in on the status of tonight's winter storm watch — which is looking like cold rain with a good chance of sleet from 6 p.m. on — one of the first thoughts I had was, "Good, hopefully the bad weather will mean fewer street murders tonight." Ugh.

One of the things no one has really brought up yet in terms of the massive crowd estimates being bandied about for Barack Obama's inauguration is that the date of the presidential inauguration is more often than not one of the coldest days of the year in Washington. Well the Washington Business Journal reported today that Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is asking the federal and local government as well as private and nonprofit organizations to open up more buildings to house crowds on Jan. 20, a step that would become vital if temperatures are extremely low that day. The article tiptoes around it, but Norton is also clearly largely concerned that there could be 4 million people walking through the District with no place to pee.

From the National Weather Service:

AT 1 PM...AN ORGANIZED AREA OF SNOW SHOWERS WAS OVER PENNSYLVANIA. THESE SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO PROGRESS SOUTH OVER MARYLAND... THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA... AND VIRGINIA DURING THE MID AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING HOURS. LOCAL ACCUMULATIONS UP TO A HALF INCH OF SNOWFALL ARE POSSIBLE...BUT ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE MAINLY ON UNPAVED SURFACES. IF PAVEMENT TEMPERATURES FALL BELOW FREEZING OR MORE ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MAY BE ISSUED. AT THIS TIME...THAT IS NOT EXPECTED.

Illustration by Martin Austermuhle

This one's for the doubters (I'm looking at you, Mattos). Kyle Walton was able to snap this shot of today's brief flurries from his vantage point in Chinatown.

It's not sticking at all and is so light it's difficult to photograph, but the first flurries of the season began to fall in D.C. during the lunch hour today. By no means a snowpocalypse, but bona fide snow nonetheless. Where I am on U Street, the flurries lasted for about eight minutes before the clouds rolled past and the sun came back. Did you see flakes where you are? Rest assured, we've put a call in to Davy DCist to see if this merits an appearance from him.

We're by no means ready to trot out our favorite cold weather word, but at 3:15 p.m., the Capital Weather Gang was still predicting a possibility for a light dusting of snow this evening. The key passage is here: "no significant accumulation expected in the metro area." You hear that, drivers? Keep your wits about you if the drops of water expected to start falling from the sky soon start turning into white fluffy flakes later on. Just take a few deep breaths and proceed with your evening commute without turning into a complete moron. Everything's gonna be all right.

It's by no means pleasant outside today, but yesterday's fears of a thick coating of ice in the District haven't come to pass. Still, Davy DCist sent us this totally obnoxious postcard just to rub today's winter storm in our faces. The nerve of that guy.

If you didn't have enough fun with slipping and falling on the ice last week, the National Weather Service has exciting news for you: another winter storm warning has been issued from 10 p.m. tonight through 10 p.m. Friday. Normally we don't like to leave all-caps in blockquotes, but given the apparent need for D.C.-style winter weather panic, capital letters seem somehow appropriate.

When yesterday's ice storm was just getting underway, I posted a rather pathetic admission that I had fallen down on the ice outside of DCist HQ. Since then, many of you have added your icy sidewalk tales of woe to the comments, some with far worse results than mine. But if this FOX News report is any indication, my slip and fall truly pales in comparison to that of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who actually broke his shoulder after falling on the ice last night. Gates will have to sit out a House Appropriations Committee hearing today while he receives medical treatment for the break. Get well soon, Secretary Gates. Your pratfall is in good company.

So, yeah. I totally just bit it on the brick sidewalk in front of DCist HQ, which had been coated with an invisible layer of slick ice since I left a few hours ago. I was even wearing all-weather boots! Sadly, my fall was more of the forward onto one knee and then over to one side variety, rather than the more classic comedy-style feet flying up and landing squarely on your bottom. Sigh. What would Dick Van Dyke say?

Mayor Adrian Fenty will adopt a different approach to removing snow from District streets after a winter storm - one that places a bigger emphasis on residential streets instead of putting them on the back burner until the main roads have been plowed. The Washington Post's copy editors get a gold star for dubbing this plan "No Street Left Behind".

The National Weather Service had issued a Winter Weather Advisory between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. today because of some light snow and freezing rain in the forecast, but it has now canceled that advisory.

We haven't had much snow so far this winter, so we thought it was high time to trot out everyone's favorite MS Paint stick figure, Davy DCist. The snowy view from DCist HQ is below -- it's finally starting to stick. You can check live traffic cam shots to see if the snow is sticking where you are over here. Look for the snow to change to a mix of sleet and rain after 3 p.m., but in the meantime, enjoy!

Parts of the District were treated to a very brief snow flurry around noon today, but it disappeared as fast as it started, leaving area snow lovers aroused, yet unsatisfied. But wait! The newly renamed Capital Weather Gang says there's another chance for snow, if also a little slim, on Thursday.

Here's the deal: A storm will come up the coast Thursday. Enough cold air will be in place when the precipitation first arrives for a possible period of wet snow late morning into the afternoon. But since any snow is likely to fall during the day and the ground is relatively warm, I think getting "stickage" is going to be tough, except in the colder north and west suburbs (spots like Gaithersburg, Sterling, etc). Those spots may receive an inch or two.

Continue reading "Maybe a Little More Snow on Thursday"

Temperatures are expected to remain well below freezing again overnight, which can mean danger for the District's homeless population. The city has put out a reminder to call their Hypothermia Shelter Hotline should you spot anyone trying to sleep outside when it's this cold.

Our Pilgrim cousins to the north have been having all the wintry fun of late. While we sit here in the mid-Atlantic frantically wondering if we'll get snow instead of an annoying, ice-cold spritz, Boston gets about eight inches of commute-snarling precip. Why do they get all the snow AND all the good sports teams?